Bipartisan backlash erupted in response to news that Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court targeted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant with arrest warrants.
The chamber issued the arrest warrants against the two men "for crimes against humanity and war crimes," according to the ICC.
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa. – who has been a stalwart supporter of Israel in the wake of the heinous Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack against the Jewish state – responded to the ICC's move in a post on X, writing, "No standing, relevance, or path. F--- that." He capped off the tweet with an Israeli flag emoji.
ICC REJECTS ISRAELI APPEALS, ISSUES ARREST WARRANTS FOR BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, YOAV GALLANT
Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., excoriated the ICC, accusing it of ignoring the context of Israel's war effort, which the U.S. ally launched in response to the horrific Oct. 7 attack last year. During the assault, Hamas terrorists committed atrocities including rape, murder and kidnapping.
"The ICC’s decision to issue arrest warrants against the leadership of Israel represents the weaponization of international law at its most egregious. The ICC has set a precedent for criminalizing self-defense: any country daring to defend itself against an enemy that exploits civilians as human shields will face persecution posing as prosecution," Torres declared in a post on X.
"The ICC ignores the cause and context of the war. Israel did not initiate the war. The war was imposed upon Israel by the unbridged barbarism of Hamas on October 7th. Not only did Hamas wage war on Israel, causing the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, it carefully constructed a battlefield designed to maximize the loss of civilian life," he continued.
"None of that context seems to matter to the kangaroo court of the ICC, which cannot let facts get in the way of its ideological crusade against the Jewish State. The ICC should be sanctioned not for enforcing the law but for distorting it beyond recognition," the congressman concluded.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, declared in a post, "Enough of this dangerous lawfare against @netanyahu & Israel. @SenSchumer must stop blocking a Senate vote on my bipartisan (42 Dems joined) House-passed ICC sanctions bill, #HR8282. Vote now!"
Torres was one of the dozens of House Democrats who voted in favor of passing the measure earlier this year.
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Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., referred to the ICC as "a dangerous joke," declaring in a tweet, "It is now time for the U.S. Senate to act and sanction this irresponsible body."
